#JeSuisCharlie

The hashtag, JeSuisCharlie, has been a very controversial topic, because it involves people of different religions and ethnicities. It fights for freedom of speech and self-expression, while involving the so-called correlation between terrorism and Islam. The movement started in France because of a tragedy that occurred on January 7th, 2015. A magazine by the name of Charlie Hebdo had published cartoons with offensive images of the prophet Muhammad, which angered Muslims around the world. Portraying images of any prophet is against Islam, and Charlie Hebdo not only portrayed images, those images were sexualized. This added to the anger. Two extremist Muslims took their anger too far by entering the offices of Charlie Hebdo on January 7th and killing 12 individuals. Everyone wants the freedom to express his or her views without any consequence, which is why the movement, Je Suis Charlie, started and then spread so quickly. People want extremists to know that they don’t fear someone who uses weapons against pens.

The hashtag, CharlieHebdo, was also developed to cover topics relevant to the murders and the magazine. Supporters of both hashtags have developed poems, songs, and illustrations. They fight for freedom of speech for people all around the world. A popular slogan was developed that states, “A cartoon will never be a crime. Murder is.” Even an app was developed for Je Suis Charlie. Most people feel that it is ridiculous for someone to murder others simply because of a drawing.

Not long after this event, a movie, called “Timbuktu,” was released about the jihadist invasion of Mali. Jacques-Alain Bénisti, the mayor of  Villiers-sur-Marne, almost banned the screening of the movie, saying that it was “an apology for terrorism.” This hypocrisy in France, regarding free speech, was widely criticized. How is Charlie Hebdo given the ability to publish whatever it wants regarding muslims, but an anti-jihadist movie has to be banned? Bénisti hadn’t even seen the movie but claimed that young individuals might come to see the jihadists as role models. Due to all of the backlash, Bénisti apologized for his actions and agreed to reschedule the screening.

Varying opinions on the movement, Je Suis Charlie, have been portrayed in articles worldwide. The hashtag JeNeSuisPasCharlie was developed for people who are somewhat against the movement. While most of the people against the movement believe in freedom of speech, they don’t think that Charlie Hebdo was using his wisely. They believe that the magazine portrayed more hatred towards Muslims than it did anything else. Hebdo tried arguing the images were simply humorous, however, Muslims most likely found them to be extremely offensive. It’s also absurd to think that the cartoons are simply comedic and that they have no consequences. The images are insulting towards such a strong and powerful figure in Islam. It should be quite obvious that they would be offensive.

Despite the beliefs that these individuals have, they do not condone the murders. These murders add to the negative reputation that Islam has already been given. People argue that while this was a great tragedy, there are many larger issues in the world that should be fought for and brought to everyone’s attention. At the time of these murders in France, there was an even larger massacre in Kenya. Nobody created a hashtag for that. There are arguments that this was due to the different races affected by the two tragedies, white versus black. There is also a great emphasis in the news of tragedies that Muslims cause. Tragedies that occur to Muslim communities are rarely brought to attention. These issues revolve around race and religion, which is why JeSuisCharlie is such a controversial topic.

Gary Trudeau, a cartoonist, portrayed his opinions on the murders in France and the images published by Charlie Hebdo. He was quoted in an article in The Atlantic that stated, “…Western societies focus on radical Islamism as the real, or the only, enemy. This focus is part of the consensus about mournable bodies, and it often keeps us from paying proper attention to other, ongoing, instances of horrific carnage around the world…” He also points out a previous issue that occurred in Denmark. A newspaper had published images of Muhammad simply to provoke the Muslim community and see how they would respond. He related this to Charlie Hebdo by stating, “By punching downward, by attacking a powerless, disenfranchised minority with crude, vulgar drawings closer to graffiti than cartoons, Charlie wandered into the realm of hate speech…” The article explains that these viewpoints are placing the blame on the individuals murdered rather than the murderers themselves. Trudeau says that satire is not funny if it is attacking the underdogs in a community. The article argues that it is difficult to determine the true underdog in a community, which would make his point irrelevant.

All three hashtags, JeSuisCharlie, JeNeSuisPasCharlie, and CharlieHebdo, are used to express varying opinions on the topic of the tragedy that occurred on January 7th. This movement is being expressed worldwide in order to portray to extremists everywhere that people aren’t going to live in fear. That all people will stick together and not be silenced by acts of violence against their freedom of self-expression.

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